This "Board Game" For Toddlers Should Be on Every Parent's Holiday Shopping List

By Kate Schweitzer
Every editorial product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn commission.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love board games and those who aren't invited to my house. I love a good game night, but since having kids, it's been especially hard to orchestrate a raucous evening of Cards Against Humanity (even the parent version!) or an endurance-level match of Monopoly. Relying on my toddler to pick up the slack hadn't been too effective, either, until I saw this game in the store window of our neighborhood toy shop: Roll & Play: Your Child's First Game ($20).

When I first spotted it, my child was nearing her second birthday. Because most board games — from Chutes & Ladders to Candy Land — are for 3-year-olds and up, I was thrilled to see this one geared specifically to toddlers as young as 18 months.

Here's how Roll & Play works:

Although there's not technically a board, there is a large, plush cube (a gateway to dice) with a different color on each side. Toss the cube, and based on the color that's on top when it lands, you then choose the corresponding card and do what it says.

  • Red: action cards. Give a high-five. Do a silly dance.
  • Orange: counting cards. Blink your eyes three times. Stomp six times.
  • Yellow: emotion cards. Giggle and laugh. Make a surprised face.
  • Green: animal sound cards. Moo like a cow. Roar like a lion.
  • Blue: color cards. Find something black. Find something yellow.
  • Purple: body part cards. Pull your ears. Tickle your knees.

When we first introduced the game to our toddler, it went over her head. At first, she only really liked throwing the cube around, but every few weeks, she'd be a little more interested in the other aspects. When she'd throw it, she'd shout out the color gleefully, for instance. Soon, we used the deck, but more as flash cards in which we'd go through the animal sounds, then the emotion cards. A month after she turned 2, though, it was as if a light switch went off. We were actually playing the game! And it was fun!

What's especially nice about Roll & Play is that it's a simple premise with no winners or losers. You can take turns rolling or just let your kid have at it every time. You play until you're out of cards or your toddler gets distracted, whichever comes first (hint: it's the latter every time).

We just celebrated my daughter's third birthday, in which she got a few classic board games as gifts, and I have been shocked at how quickly she is catching on to the logistics — taking turns, counting spaces, following instructions . . .

She's well on her way to being someone I'll want on my team at a future game night, and I have this simple introductory game to thank for it.